Semiconductor devices are used in various electronic and other devices throughout the world. Once the semiconductor device fabrication process is completed, the fabricated semiconductor device is coupled to external components using various assembly processes. One common assembly process is a bonding process whereby the semiconductor device is bonded to a bonding wire or a bumping material such as a solder bump or solder ball.
Semiconductor devices include one or numerous conductive metal layers. The conductive metal layers serve as wiring layers and couple the various device components to one another through dielectric materials. The conductive metal layers are formed over one another and at various device levels. Each semiconductor device includes an uppermost, top metal wiring layer. The top metal wiring layer of the semiconductor device must be coupled to a solder bump or other external component as part of the assembly process and in order for the semiconductor device to be utilized. Some connective technologies utilize thick material layers or other processes such as lengthy deposition processes, that can cause plasma damage to the semiconductor device. The plasma can charge the dielectric materials formed over the top metal layer and propagate through the metal layers and to transistors and other devices formed on the substrate or between the metal layers, through an antenna-type effect. When this charge undesirably reaches metal gate or other transistors formed in the semiconductor device, including on the substrate, this charge can cause blowout of the gate and destruction of the functionality of the transistor and of the entire semiconductor device.
It would be desirable to provide assembly methods and connective structures in which plasma damage to the transistors and other components of the semiconductor device, is prevented.